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City-state (Civ6)
City-states make a comeback in Civilization VI, after their introduction in Civilization V. However, the mechanics of interactions with them have been changed considerably, and their importance is somewhat diminished, since there is no Diplomatic victory anymore. Nevertheless, City-States are an important part of the gameplay and everyone needs to know how to relate to them. What is a City-State? A city-state is an AI-controlled entity that represents a small nation which does not compete for victory. A set of City-States is present at the beginning of the game along with the standard AI- and player-controlled civilizations; the size of the set depends on the map size. A City-State cannot build new cities and does not compete for victory in the game. Instead, it interacts with all civilizations in the game and confers special benefits to those with which it has friendly relations. As before, you can choose to court City-States and use their benefits, you can ignore them and concentrate on your rivals, or you can conquer them for their territory. City-State Relations Gaining influence with city-states has changed significantly in respect to Civilization V. There is no longer an Influence meter for each city-state, and your influence with them does not decay over time. Instead, you can improve your relations with city-states by assigning special units known as Envoys to each one you want to befriend. Envoys Envoys are diplomats which specialize in city-state relations. There are three main ways to earn them: # Envoys are earned over time for free, as a result of your government activity. The more advanced your government is, the faster you earn them (see "Influence Points" below). # Special desires of each city-state (we may call them "quests" to liken them to the old system) will be posted upon meeting the City-State, or upon era transition. Note that while in Vanilla Civilization VI 'era transition' means the individual Era progression for each civilization, in Civilization VI: Rise and Fall the World Eras are considered 'era transitions', and only then will new 'quests' be assigned to players! Any player that can fulfill the request earns one free Envoy with that city-state. # Many Civics grant free Envoys upon completion. Additionally, the first player to meet a city-state earns one free Envoy with them. There are also certain Policies which speed up the process of gaining Envoys. Some also create envoys upon activation. Envoys may be earned directly with the City-State (when you complete their quests), in which case you have no control over where they get assigned. But more often Envoys are "trained" by your government officials, and then you choose where exactly to assign them. After earning Envoys, you may choose to delay their assignment, or assign them immediately - both approaches are valid and have uses in the game. You can even assign Envoys to a City-State you're at war with, and if you manage to affect its Suzerain status, you will immediately negotiate Peace with it. Note that, once assigned, Envoys stay in their City-States forever. You never lose the influence points of one city-state unless you yourself declare war on that city-state. Being drawn into war with a city-state due to warring with its suzerain does not remove your Envoys. Influence Points The main way to earn Envoys is through accumulation of Influence. The Influence meter in Civilization VI is a global one, measuring the general diplomatic power of your civilization, and serves as means of generating Envoys. Each government type grants a certain number of Influence points per turn, and a different Influence meter maximum; upon reaching that maximum you gain a set number of Envoys. Look at the upper right corner of the government to check the exact details. There are three different levels of influence gain, depending on how advanced your government is: * Level 1 (Oligarchy, Autocracy, Classical Republic): 3 points per turn; 1 Envoy granted at 100 points. * Level 2 (Monarchy, Theocracy, Merchant Republic): 5 points per turn; 2 Envoys at 150 points. * Level 3 (Democracy, Fascism, Communism): 7 points per turn; 3 Envoys at 200 points. The initial Chiefdom government earns only 1 point per turn, and grants 1 Envoy at 100 points. As mentioned above, certain abilities and Policy Cards may speed up the accumulation of Influence points. Relations Degrees Relations bonuses now depend both on the number of Envoys a civilization has with the particular city-state, and whether or not other civilizations have more Envoys than the player. Special benefits are conferred to any player that has a particular number of Envoys: * One Envoy: Confers a bonus yield to the player's Capital. * Three Envoys: Confers additional bonus yields to cities with a particular kind of District. Also enables Suzerain status, if no other civilization has more Envoys. * Six Envoys: Doubles the previous District-based bonus. The types of the yields conferred depend on the type of the City-State. Check the table below for more information on that. As for diplomatic relations, the only possible statuses a city-state may have with a particular civilization are Neutral and Suzerain. A player becomes the Suzerain of a city-state when he or she has a minimum of three Envoys with it, and more Envoys with it than any other civilization. In the beginning of the game all City-States are Neutral to all players, since no one has sent any Envoys yet. As the game develops and civilizations start their diplomatic activity, each City-State will acquire a Suzerain. That Suzerain may change, as other civilizations also court the City-State. However, if two civilization have the same number of Envoys with a City-State, it won't choose either for Suzerain and prefer to become Neutral again. City-States which have been Liberated will choose their liberator for Suzerain, automatically assigning three Envoys to it. City-State Benefits The benefits of befriending city-states have changed substantially since Civilization V. City-states still have types, such as Religious and Cultural, and confer bonuses related to them. Most come in the form of yields of some kind, according to the type of the city-state - for example, bonus from Holy Sites for Religious ones, or bonus from Theater Squares from Cultural ones. In addition to these bonuses, however, each city-state now also provides a unique bonus to its Suzerain. Players who desire these specific bonuses will have to compete with other players to get them instead of searching for another city-state that offers the same bonus. Additionally, the Suzerain of a city-state gains a number of other benefits: * The city-state follows you into war and peace with other civilizations. * Your units may enter city-state territory. * Your Builder units may improve city-state tiles. * You are given vision of 3 tiles around the city-state. * You can pay to temporarily take control of the city-state's military. * Gain ownership of all the city-state's resources. * Units can be upgraded in the city-state territory as if it was your own. Types of City-States Strategy As in Civilization V, City-States are a very important part of the game, which could become the difference between winning and losing. Compared to the previous game, however, the competition for influencing City-States is both more targeted and more broad. It is more targeted because of the unique Suzerain bonuses of each individual City-State (which may suit one player's goals better than these of another player); it is more broad because there is no diplomatic victory anymore, and influencing City-States is more a question of gameplay aid than a crucial element of victory. In order to make the best use of the City-State bonus system, you must first understand how exactly it works. The first kind of bonuses (i.e. the yield bonuses to the Capital and all cities with a particular district, received with 1, 3 and 6 Envoys respectively), which we will call "general" bonuses, stay with you throughout the game (unless the City-State is conquered by another civilization, of course). However, you will have to fight for the Suzerain bonuses by competing constantly with other nations to earn more Envoys than anyone else. Of course, both depend mostly on your sending out your Envoys. Earning Envoys is comparatively easy, and it happens naturally as you progress through the game (especially if you're strong in - many Civics grant free Envoys). How you choose to use them is another, more vital matter. Sometimes it will be more beneficial to spread them around different City-States so that you earn their general bonuses, instead of concentrating them in 1-2 specific City-States in an attempt to earn their Suzerainty. The first general bonus of each City-State activates with a single Envoy, so if you're the first player to meet a City-State and get a free Envoy for doing so, you'll immediately reap the benefits of the bonus. This can help immensely in the early game, when your Capital is your only city - every single City-State you meet first will already boost your Capital's yields! This is one of the reasons exploration is so important in the beginning. The other general bonuses, however, only work in cities with a particular district (or District building in ) . This means that if you don't have this district anywhere, there is simply no use to rush and get 3 (much less 6) Envoys with a City-State. Instead, send them to other City-States and earn their first general bonuses. Only later, when your districts are up and running, should you go for the higher general bonuses - each of them will work on every city with a particular district, even without Suzerainty. However, if you can make use of a particular City-State's Suzerain bonus early in the game, then you should go for it! Carefully analyze the bonuses of the City-States you've found, and see if you have use for them. Some bonuses, such as Toronto's, will only become useful much later in the game; others, like Brussels' or Geneva's, can be useful right away. In any case, you should be ready to adjust your strategy on the fly. Do you lack income? Look to influence a Trade City-State! Are you going to war, or in need of units? Go for a Militaristic City-State! Or, you could adjust from the opposite side: have you befriended many Cultural City-States? Then go ahead and construct Theater Squares to enjoy their bonuses! If you are influencing many Trade City-States, construct Commercial Hubs, and so on. Another way to influence City-States is by completing their quests. These are a tad more prosaic than in Civilization V, but they are still very diverse and will make you adjust strategy to complete them. You will have to decide whether this adjustment is worth it - sometimes spending time and resources just won't be worth the reward. The quests City-States can offer include the following: * Train a certain unit. * Construct a certain district. * Trigger a Eureka for a certain tech. * Trigger an Inspiration for a certain civic. * Recruit a certain type of Great Person. * Convert the city-state to your religion. * Send a Trade Route to the city-state. * Destroy a Barbarian Outpost within 5 tiles of the city-state. List of City-States and their Suzerain bonuses † Available with the Vikings Scenario Pack DLC. 1 Replaced Jakarta in the Fall 2017 Update. 2 Replaced Amsterdam in the Rise and Fall expansion. 3 Replaced Seoul in the Rise and Fall expansion. Scenario-Specific City-States Conquests of Alexander Because the player cannot obtain Envoys in Conquests of Alexander, it is not possible to interact with city-states diplomatically. As such, city-states do not provide any envoy bonuses or Suzerain bonuses. Gifts of the Nile Jadwiga's Legacy Outback Tycoon Path to Nirvana Vikings, Traders, and Raiders! Category:City-states Category:City-states (Civ6) Category:Game element (Civ6)